In Half-Hearted Enemies author John Boileau explores this ambiguous wartime relationship and examines the role played by Nova Scotia in the war. He recounts many of the famous privateering and naval escapades up and down the coast, including the most famous prize, USS Chesapeake, which was captured by the Royal Navy and brought into Halifax Harbour. Halifax was also the site of the military prison where, over the course of the war, 10,000 men endured overcrowded and unhealthy living conditions. Some who died in the notorious Melville Island prison still lay buried in an almost-forgotten cemetery nearby. During the war many escaped slaves found passage to Nova Scotia. This book reveals that instead of peace and prosperity the refugees found prejudice, hardship and smallpox.
